


Trace

by WhatsHappeningCowboy



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, kiss prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2018-12-23 16:10:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11993280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsHappeningCowboy/pseuds/WhatsHappeningCowboy
Summary: trace your lips with mineA collection of short kiss prompts featuring MacCready and Sole Survivor Chiv Arroyo.





	1. Are You Sure?

**Author's Note:**

> A collection of short kiss fics from a prompt game over on my tumblr, with RJ MacCready and Sole Survivor Chiv Arroyo. Each chapter is a separate prompt, and they're all short standalone pieces. Please enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more for chiv and maccready

‘…so then,’ MacCready continued, his words forced out around the laughter bubbling over in his throat; ‘then the other guy goes, _if he’s an Initiate, then who’s flying the Vertibird?_ ’

Chiv choked on his mouthful of beer, laughter spluttering out as MacCready doubled over beside him, shoulders heaving, gasping for breath in between howls of mirth. Man, but he loved MacCready’s laugh. Always a little too enthusiastic, a little too high-pitched, slipping out easiest at his own awful jokes and puns, or at Chiv’s expense. Laughter was a commodity in the Wastes, a luxury, and it was one Chiv would happily indulge MacCready in forever, if he could. Nights like this were the best kind, anyway; nights spent sprawled lazily around a campfire, in the scant safety of whatever old building they’d happened to be closest to at dusk. Nights spent exchanging stories and jokes, trying in vain to keep their voices low before the laughter broke through. Nights spent with MacCready pressed against his side, warm even through the layers of jackets and scarves and shirts necessary to keep out the Commonwealth winter.

And hell, even if the drinks were warm and the wind was cold, he wouldn’t change a single thing about it.

Beside him, MacCready reached for Chiv’s drink, his own long finished; leaned heavily against Chiv’s side as he passed it over, both of them still hiccuping with laughter, MacCready’s giggles amplified and echoing in the bottle. There was a pleasant buzzing in Chiv’s spine, a giddiness in the back of his head, a warmth in his gut. MacCready glanced up at him, passed the bottle back, and Chiv’s hand closed over his on the cool glass. MacCready was still half-laughing, eyes crinkled at the corners in that way they sometimes did, twin flames flickering in the firelight, and…

MacCready’s noise of surprise was muffled against Chiv’s mouth, his breath a sudden shocked huff against his skin. The hand still held beneath Chiv’s twitched and almost dropped the bottle, the other reflexively coming up to press into Chiv’s shoulder, trembling, unsure whether to push away or pull in. Chiv’s lips were dry, a little rough, the lingering taste of Gwinnett still strong between them. He shifted, tilted his head, pressed in a little more insistently; and MacCready sighed shakily into the kiss, lips parting softly as his eyes drifted shut. There was a rushing, roaring sound in his head, drowning out the crackle of the fire, the shift of Chiv’s t-shirt as his grip tightened, the whimper in his throat…

Chiv pulled away again, and the world rushed back in. MacCready blinked, mouth still hanging slightly ajar, eyes snapping open again, wide and bright in his face. The bridge of Chiv’s nose was burning red. He was still close enough for the words to ghost over MacCready’s mouth.

‘I…fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t…you just…and I…’ He swallowed hard. ‘Are you sure you…?’

The bottle slipped to the floor to spill out the last of the drink as MacCready grabbed the front of Chiv’s shirt in both hands and dragged him back in again, delighted, giddy laughter back on his lips.

_‘Shut the fu…heck up, you idiot.’_


	2. We Shouldn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: _chiv and maccready kissing - "no, we shouldn't-" then kissing again and moaning into it prompt!!!_

‘Chiv…Chiv, _c’mon_ , we can’t, we…’  
  
Chiv’s hands pushed cold up under his t-shirt, drawing a whine from low in MacCready’s throat as his fingertips trailed along his spine, nails scratching bluntly against his skin. His mouth was a line of fire against his throat, trailing heat down to the juncture of his shoulder to nip sharply, burning back up again to his mouth to press kisses at the corner of his lips, teasing but insistent. McCready huffed, dropped his head back, turned his face away; but that just exposed his neck again, and he gasped as Chiv’s teeth sank in.  
  
‘We don’t have _time_ , they’re gonna be…they’re gonna know what we’re doing, I…’  
  
‘Fuck ‘em. They can wait,’ came the answering growl, and MacCready felt it rather than heard it, the low rumble in Chiv’s chest as he raised his head again and pressed in close, closer, one knee pushing questioningly between MacCready’s legs as he pulled him in to kiss him hard. MacCready moaned into it, leant his scant weight further onto Chiv’s form, pressing him back against the wall, letting his hands drop to the waistband of Chiv’s jeans…and then stopped, tore himself away with a tortured groan. Chiv’s answering moan of frustration was almost painful, his head dropping back to thump against the concrete. MacCready took the chance to catch his breath, try and regain some sort of control, eyes fixed on Chiv’s mouth as the tip of his tongue chased the sensation left on his lower lip, his roughened fingers still smoothing over the small of his back.

‘We shouldn’t,’ he breathed, hands trembling on Chiv’s waist, mouth parting again and head tilting. He could feel the shaky, panting rise and fall of Chiv’s breath beneath his fingers, feel the cool kiss of it on his flushed skin. He raised his gaze, and Chiv’s eyes were heavy-lidded, dark and laughing.  
  
‘No, we shouldn’t,’ Chiv agreed, voice low, teasing. They were close, so close, lips almost brushing.  
  
‘Right. Exactly. So…so we aren’t going to.’  
  
The corner of Chiv’s mouth twitched, and one eyebrow arched up. He shifted his knee, pressing up just a little, and grinned that wolfish grin.  
  
‘Definitely not,’ MacCready added in a whisper, and closed the gap between them, moaning low and long and steadfastly ignoring the quiet chuckle that Chiv couldn’t quite suppress.  
  
Couple more minutes wouldn’t hurt ‘em.


	3. ...Please?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: _CHIV AND MAC WHERE ONE SAYS KISS ME AND THEN THE HOARSE ‘PLEASE’ THAT STUFF KILLS MEEEEE_ & _How about Chiv and MacCready for the forehead touching, guys with furrowed brows when kissing and maybe the hoarse voice after?_

‘ _Fuck!’_

Chiv pulled back around the corner just in the nick of time, a hail of bullets zipping past his face so close he could feel the sharp sing of the air against his cheek. This was a fuckin’ _nightmare._ They’d been in this damn factory for hours, getting turned around and doubling back on themselves, room after room and floor after floor of winding corridors and huge rusted pieces of machinery, conveyor belts, cranes; all looking exactly the same, all confusing as hell to navigate. The stench of rust and oil thick in their nostrils, the huge echoing rooms making it impossible to pinpoint the direction of shouts or footfalls or gunfire. After what felt like an eternity, exhausted, bruised, aching, and pretty damn pissed off to boot, they’d finally made it to the main floor, where their target lay; the fuckhead Raider boss who’d been ordering attacks on the caravans coming up from the city, attacking provisioners and travellers alike on the long northern road.

But of course, it wasn’t as easy as just popping him in the head and strolling on out again. He’d gathered a whole damn crew of the fuckers in the main floor of the factory, all scattered and hidden out behind half-finished cars and impenetrable steel supports. Cowards, fuckin’ _cowards_ the lot of them, _none_ of ‘em would be able to take him one on one; but still they’d managed to pin him down, back pressed against the concrete wall, cornered and raging like a wild dog.  Any time he stuck his head out to try and even get one of them in his damn sights, a hail of gunfire would force him back in again, teeth bared and hands shaking with rage.

 _Fuck_ Raiders, and _fuck_ Corvega.

MacCready had vanished, darting for the catwalks that ranged the side of the room, pulling himself hand-over-hand up the ladder with Chiv providing covering fire, and he hadn’t seen him since; but he could hear him firing, hear the occasional scream and squeal as his bullets buried themselves in his targets, deadly accurate as always. Chiv felt a fierce burst of pride bloom hot in his chest, radiating out through his veins, mixing with the adrenalin already coursing there. RJ would handle it, could handle anything. Chiv could see him in his mind’s eye, that piercing look of utter concentration glowing like fire in that bright blue gaze, narrowed to a dangerous squint as he sighted down his scope, his lip twisting in that little way it always did right before he took the shot, his body a lean line of tension, shifting fluidly from one target to the next as he fired and fired and fired again and -

A Raider’s triumphant scream rent the air, something crashed loudly to the floor up on the catwalk, and Mac’s gun fell silent.

Chiv’s heart stopped, and the missed beat stretched into eternity before the world crashed back in again in a thunderclap, his blood pounding in his head, a furious roar ripping from his throat. He was out from behind his cover before his mind had caught up with his body, shotgun blasting in his hands, firing in any and all directions, too far gone to care about finding his targets through the haze of his rage. Buckshot skittered over metal, into concrete, into flesh. He’d kill them, he’d kill every single one of them, bare-handed if he had to; he’d tear them, he’d choke them, he’d rip them limb from limb for what they’d done to -

A flicker caught his eye, dragged him from his mindless rage, reality knifing back in. A spark, a flash, a trail of fire licking fast across the floor towards the cars; Chiv had just enough time to mouth a silent curse, to dive back behind his concrete wall, to feel his blood turn to ice in his veins before -

 

_whump._

 

The force of the blast shook even the pillar of his cover and he ducked instinctively, hands over his head as the world caught fire, the reactors in the cars going up one by one, an endless chain of explosions and bright, blinding flashes that made the geiger counter on his Pip-Boy sing. A wild yell tore itself from his throat, but the roar of the flames drowned out any other sound. It seemed to go on forever, flames raging higher and higher, the heat becoming unbearable until Chiv thought he too might catch alight, the air thick and hot and dry and making him gasp; and then as quickly as it had started, it ended, the fire burning itself out to nothing and leaving only the scent of hot metal and burning flesh in its wake.

Chiv hauled himself back to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall, ears ringing and vision swimming as he stared open-mouthed at the wreckage of the factory floor. The Raiders were gone, vaporised, no point even bothering to check the bodies; there was no way anyone out on the floor could have survived that.

 _Good,_ he thought savagely. _Fuckin’ good._ His fist clenched at his side. _They deserved slower._

And then…

_RJ’s gone._

It hit him like a knifepunch to the gut, doubled him over, one hand groping blindly for the wall to steady himself as all the air left his lungs. His fault, his fault, and he always knew it would be, in the end - how could it be any different? - but like this...like _this..._ he felt the howl start to burn up through his chest, build in his throat, mouth opened to pour out raw agony and -

‘What in the _heck_ was that?!’

His head snapped up, and MacCready was sliding down the ladder to the catwalks, eyes huge and face pale, wonder and anger painted clear in the slack of his jaw and the rushed tripping of his run as he raced over; but he was _alive_ and _unharmed_ and he was shouting, shouting something angrily at him but Chiv didn’t give one single shit about that right now.

‘RJ,’ he managed to choke out, and scrambled to meet him halfway, diving on him and dragging him in for a bruising embrace, burying his face in the smoke-scented leather of his duster, one hand coming up to grip desperately at his hair, the other hooked around his waist as tight as he could possibly hold him. MacCready’s shouting cut off abruptly in a yelp of surprise before he, too, was gripping at the back of Chiv’s t-shirt, returning the embrace despite his anger.

‘What the _fuck_ was that?!’ he snarled again, against the top of Chiv’s head, and he uncensored curse jolted through the pit of Chiv’s belly.

‘I thought...something fell, you stopped shooting, I thought…’ he mumbled, face still pressed into the crook of his neck, and MacCready heaved a huge, exasperated sigh that fluttered through Chiv’s hair.

‘You idiot. I was fine, I was trying to get to a better position and I knocked one of the crates over. Then I saw you jump out, and...what the heck were you _thinking?!_ You coulda been _killed!’_

‘...I thought you were dead,’ Chiv repeated, voice uncharacteristically quiet, and he felt MacCready still before his hands slid to his waist to gently squeeze.

‘Well, I’m not,’ he murmured back, and then stepped away, studying Chiv’s body for injuries. He’d been caught in the arm, blood slowly soaking into his t-shirt, and MacCready bent to reach the bandages in his pack; but Chiv caught him, hand cupping the side of his face, thumb brushing over his cheekbone, and turned his gaze back to meet his.

‘Kiss me,’ Chiv whispered, voice hoarse with unspoken fear, and MacCready realised his hand was shaking. ‘ _Please.’_

MacCready’s eyes held his for a moment longer, brows twisting up soft concern before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Chiv’s. The kiss was gentle and chaste; reassurance, _it’s-okay, i’m-here, we’re-okay_ as MacCready’s hand found his and wound their fingers together. Chiv’s brow was furrowed, lips trembling against MacCready’s as he fought back the hot sting of fear on the backs of his eyes, in his throat. His hand slipped from his cheek to the back of his head, fingertips rubbing on the shorthairs there, and held it in place even as they broke apart to breathe, gently resting his forehead on MacCready’s.

‘Don’t do that again,’ MacCready murmured, just as Chiv whispered, ‘Don’t frighten me like that again,’ and the ghost of a familiar smile finally curled the corner of Chiv’s mouth as he pulled away completely. MacCready squeezed his hand, once.

‘C’mon. Let’s get the fu...heck outta this place.’

Chiv needed no second encouragement, locking their fingers tight together and not letting go until the familiar glow of Red Rocket appeared around the last bend in the road to home.


	4. Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: _hey ollie, destroy me with [kissing tears away]_

Chiv jolted violently into wakefulness, heart pounding so hard against his ribs every beat felt like a punch. For a few long, terrifying moments, he was suffocating, his chest paralysed, his mouth open wide but no air reaching his lungs; until, with a huge shuddering gasp, his back arched off the bed and he drew in a burning lungful of cold night air. Then his chest was heaving, panting, breathing quick and shallow and panicky as he shoved himself up against the headboard, the sheets tangled tight around his legs, mussed and haphazard from his tossing and turning. He was soaked with cold fear-sweat, starting to shiver as the cool air hit his skin, his mind still a confused blur of noise and colour and fear, the last remnants of his dream fading out and leaving only the lingering copper-tang of terror on the back of his tongue.

Fuck, he needed a smoke.

He didn’t register that he was crying until the tears hit the back of his hand, clumsy and uncoordinated as he fumbled a cigarette from the pack beside the bed and tucked it between trembling lips. But the lighter wouldn’t catch; his shaking fingers tried and failed five times, the flare and flick of flame bright and sudden in the dark of the room each time but fading out almost immediately, the blur of tears distorting the fire into a mushroom-cloud flare each time, burning into the backs of his eyes.

For a long beat, he waited, the final flare fading out into nothingness, the darkness rushing back in to fill the space; and then in one violent burst of movement he flung the lighter across the room, ripped the cigarette from his mouth and hurled that after it, pressing the heels of his hands hard against his eyes, shoulders shaking as frightened, panicky sobs wracked his body. _Just a nightmare, just a stupid fuckin’ nightmare_...but it wasn’t just a nightmare, was it? It had happened. It was real. All of it. All of the shit he’d done, even now hounding him, snapping at his heels, waiting for him to stumble and fall so it could move in and tear out his throat.

Beside him, MacCready shifted, mumbled something, rolled onto his side to open one eye and peer blearily up at him. Chiv stilled his crying almost immediately, choking off the sobs and forcing his body to stop shaking, swiping hurriedly at his eyes with the back of his hand.

‘Sorry,’ he whispered, sniffing wetly, turning his face away and trying to keep his voice as steady as he could. ‘Didn’t mean to wake you.’

MacCready made a little murmuring noise and pushed himself slowly up, the blankets falling to pool around his waist. His hand reached out, roughened fingertips brushing against Chiv’s cheek, smoothing over the cheekbone, a soft exhale parting his lips as he found the tears.

‘Hey, hey,’ he said, voice low and hoarse, comfortingly sleep-slurred. ‘What’s…?’

Chiv just shook his head, sniffing hard again, starting to turn away; but MacCready’s hand cupped the side of his face, and suddenly his lips were brushing against Chiv’s cheekbone, dry and chapped and making his heart skip a few beats. Small, light kisses peppered across his face; his eyelids, his cheeks, down to the corner of his lips where the tears had collected, kissing the salt from his skin. MacCready’s mouth was wet with Chiv’s tears, tongue dipping out to lick away the salt from his lips as he finally pulled back.

‘Breathe slow,’ he mumbled, resting his forehead against Chiv’s. ‘Breathe with me.’

His thumb soothed over Chiv’s cheek, the other hand resting gently on his thigh and squeezing; a grounding gesture, anchoring Chiv back to earth. They breathed together for a few long, quiet moments; Chiv watching the gentle rise and fall of MacCready's shoulders, slowing his own panicked gasps down to match him, concentrating only on the reassuring press of his hand on his bare thigh. With one final squeeze of his fingers, MacCready drew back, just far enough that Chiv could catch the soft concern in his eyes. Chiv turned his head, pressed his lips gently to MacCready’s callused palm, felt the twitch of his fingertips as he did so, the little hitch in his breathing.

‘’S’okay, hey. You’re okay.’

Chiv swallowed thickly, but nodded. MacCready’s fingers brushed briefly through his sweat-soaked hair, just once; pushing it back from his face before gently drawing him down to lie beside him again.

‘I dreamt about the Vault again,’ he muttered, as he kicked the covers back into place and pulled them up to cover them both as they settled back. MacCready wrapped himself sleepily around Chiv’s body, slipping his arm across his waist, fingers smoothing slowly across his spine.

‘You aren’t there any more.’ He felt MacCready press one last, lazy kiss to the base of his throat, breath warm and comforting as it ghosted across his skin. ‘Go back to sleep,’ he murmured. ‘I’m here. It’s okay.’

And as he let his tired eyes drift shut, with MacCready pressed close against him, body warm and voice gravelly with sleep, arm tucked tight around his waist...

Chiv thought, maybe, he was right.

Maybe things were gonna be okay.


	5. Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: _Hey for the prompts thing could you do the trailing kisses down the neck? Maybe something with rj being a huge tease?_

'But I’m _booored,_ Chiv!’

Chiv gave a huge, overexaggerated sigh of exasperation, throwing his hands up, the wrench glinting in the sunlight. A smear of oil gleamed dark across his cheekbone as he turned to glare at him.

‘Help me out, then! I’d be done half as quick if you stopped fuckin’ about and actually gave me a hand.’

‘I dunno how, genius.’ MacCready rolled his eyes, huffing as he sat up in the grass, stretching out his long legs catlike before him. ‘You keep sayin’ it’s too much effort to teach me.’

‘That’s because you never fuckin’ _listen,’_ Chiv snarked back, but his dark eyes held a playful glint as they caught MacCready’s. ‘You got an attention span worse than Dogmeat when he smells a molerat.’

MacCready glared haughtily at him.

‘Not true. I can sit in a sniper’s nest for hours without complaining. You’re just a bad teacher.’

He caught the twitch of the muscles in Chiv’s shoulder a second before he flung the wrench at him and ducked to the side, laughing as he leaned over in the grass to grab it and toss it easily back to him. ‘You gotta do better than that!’

Chiv grinned - his throw had gone purposefully wide anyway, of course - and turned back to the dismantled turret spread out on the garage forecourt before him. Screws, wires and sheets of metal all laid out in a way that MacCready assumed made sense to Chiv, but to him just looked like an incomprehensible mess. Sturges had dropped by that morning with some blueprints, something about upgrades and better ammo capacity, and Chiv had been working ever since, despite the summer sun blazing down on their backs and warming their faces. MacCready had entertained himself in the garage workshop for a while cleaning his rifle, made them both lunch around midday, and spent a happy lazy hour or two sprawled in the grass nearby absently scratching Junkyard’s ears and flipping through a comic...but _jeez,_ was Chiv just gonna do this the _whole day?_ Sanctuary _had_ turrets, plenty of ‘em, it wasn’t like this was an urgent task. He had time for at least one damn break, surely?

‘C’m _ooon._ It’s hot, it’s a nice day. Save this boring shi...stuff for when it rains. We oughta be down by the river or something.’

Chiv just shook his head, gaze darting back and forth between the blueprints and the mass of junk spread before him.

‘I can’t do this when it’s raining, there ain’t enough space on the workshop floor. I need the space out here to spread everything out.’

MacCready raised an eyebrow.

‘There’d be plenty of space in the workshop if you hadn’t dragged that motorbike up from Concord. You’re not gonna get it working, if you just -’

‘RJ, I’m _busy,’_ Chiv growled, scrubbing one hand through his hair in frustration as he dug through a pile of boxes of scavenged screws to find the right size. ‘Can you entertain your damn self for a bit? Please?’

MacCready scowled at him as he turned his back. Jeez. He was just trying to get the guy to take a damn _break._ Chiv got like this, sometimes; any other time, he could barely sit still, bouncing from one task to the next with seemingly endless energy. But when it came to building things, to tinkering in the workshop modifying his guns or replating his combat armor, he became hyperfocused, refusing to stop for hours on end until he was trembling with exhaustion. There was already a sheen of sweat highlighting the skin on the tops of his shoulders, beginning to pink under the sun’s heat; a growing frustration in the way he scruffed at his hair, rolled his spine to ease the ache of being hunched over for so long, huffed sharply through his nose and shoved aside a tin of copper wiring a little too violently. He needed a break. Something to give him a distraction for a while, calm him down so he could go back with a fresh mind.

And if he wasn’t gonna stop by himself, then MacCready was just gonna have to take matters into his own hands.

Chiv closed his eyes slowly as MacCready moved to sit down beside him, smile entirely too innocent as Chiv drew a slow, _give-me-strength_ breath in through his nose.

‘RJ, I’m not -’

MacCready’s tongue met the shell of Chiv’s ear and cut off all coherent speech in a little choked sound, all the air punching out of his lungs in a rush as MacCready licked a line down the outer rim to his earlobe, teeth nipping gently before he pressed a kiss to the soft spot below the sharp edge of his jaw. Chiv’s body stiffened for a moment, and then a low whine pulled from deep in his chest as he relaxed, tilting his head to give better access.

‘What...are you…?’

‘You said entertain myself. I’m entertaining myself.’ MacCready’s lips stretched into a grin against Chiv’s skin. He tasted of salt, heat, and summer; heady and intoxicating, and MacCready felt his heartbeat start to pick up as he trailed slow, teasing kisses down the column of his throat, teeth scraping gently over his collarbone, pausing to bite a little harder at the juncture between neck and shoulder, feeling the soft groan roll low in Chiv’s chest.

‘This...isn’t quite what I meant,’ he breathed, quiet laughter hitching his voice. MacCready nipped sharply at the top of his shoulder, drawing out a hiss, before pulling back just enough to speak, voice teasing and light.

‘Oh, I thought you were _busy?’_

Chiv hummed noncommittally, meeting his eyes briefly before his gaze dropped to his mouth, his own tongue darting out to wet his lower lip before he closed the gap between them.

‘I’ve decided it can wait.’


	6. Please II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: _The hoarse ‘kiss me’ whisper with RJ and literally anyone because that one kILLS ME_

‘I…ahh, _ffuuck_ …’

Chiv’s laugh was low and dark, ghosting over the inside of his thigh, and MacCready had to sink his teeth hard into his lip to keep from moaning, eyes fluttering shut.

‘No swearing,’ he chided, flicking a finger against the jut of MacCready’s hipbone before lips met skin again and drew a hiss from between clenched teeth.

‘Stop fu…freakin’ _teasing_ me then!’ he snapped, fingers winding into the material tied tight around his wrists, knuckles white as he squeezed out his frustration. His hands were bound firm above his head, though, his scarf looped secure around the railing of the bed, and no amount of tugging or pulling was going to loosen it. Where the hell did Chiv learn to tie knots like that anyway? Certainly didn’t seem the Boy Scout type, that was for damn s-suu _uure_ …

MacCready’s thoughts trailed off sharply, mind blanking and diving into oblivion as Chiv moved, mouth tracing pure fire and heat across the soft skin of his belly, tongue dipping into the curve of his hip, lips tracing the line of hair back up to his chest as his hand slid slowly down his spine, nails digging in and leaving stark red lines against his skin. MacCready whined in frustration again, canted his hips up into his touch; but Chiv’s hand shot to his waist and pinned him back down again, his laughter huffing cool over the wet skin left in his tongue’s wake.

MacCready felt like he’d been tortured for _hours_ , Chiv’s touches light and teasing and never even coming _close_ to being enough; kisses flitting across his skin, tongue tracing nonsense patterns on his chest, a finger running down the inside of his thigh but never anything more, and it was driving him into a frenzy. His whole body buzzed with excess energy, toes curling and legs twitching in rabbit-kicks against the sheets, the muscles in his arms aching from the constant pull on the scarf securing his arms above his head, his breath coming in desperate shuddering gasps. A stream of bitten-off curses, choked half-words, whines and moans and whimpers escaped on every outward panting breath, pushed out from his heaving chest. And _still_ Chiv lingered just out of reach, just shy of real sensation. He hadn’t even _kissed_ him yet, for fu…for god’s sake. MacCready’s nails bit into his palms as he gripped the scarf again, Chiv leaning in almost close enough to kiss, lips practically brushing against MacCready’s mouth with every word…but still just far enough back that even strained up to breaking point, MacCready couldn’t goddamn _reach him_.

‘You gotta tell me what you want, RJ, that’s the game.’

MacCready groaned aloud, forcing his eyes back open to glare at him.

‘Just fu…haa…mm, freaking _touch_ me or something, Chiv, c’mon…’ He swallowed, mouth too wet with drool. ‘Don’t just…I’m gonna…’ Chiv’s smirk was maddeningly smug, grey eyes laughing, and MacCready bared his teeth and arched his back up off the bed, heels digging into the mattress as he pulled on the bonds around his wrists as hard as he could. ‘Stop messing around and…and…’

Chiv’s voice was a low growl against his ear, breath hot on his cheek.

‘And what?’

‘Kiss me,’ MacCready whispered, voice hoarse and breath ragged in his throat, and the tip of his tongue darted out to shakily wet his lower lip. ‘ _Please_.’

Chiv’s grin was wolfish but sincere, and MacCready felt it rather than saw it as he finally, finally leaned down to press a long, deep kiss to MacCready’s trembling lips.


	7. Miss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "person A missing the first time they lean in" and "having to lean against one another" for chiv and rj?

‘Alright, there,’ Chiv whispered, voice still slightly shaky as he carefully slid the needle out of the crook of MacCready’s arm, fighting to control the tremble in his fingers. ‘That should be enough.’

MacCready’s breath hissed in sharply with the needle’s pinch, eyes squeezing tight shut; then sighed out in one long, slow exhale as the Med-X washed through his veins. Chiv watched his body relax gradually as he eased back onto the torn-up chair, slowly flexing his forearm to get the painkiller running through his system faster, liquid haze starting to fog his brain as he groaned and stretched out his injured leg. The bandages were already starting to stain red, but the stimpak he’d jammed into his thigh mid-fight was working to slow it down, his heartbeat strong and steady despite the wound. Chiv leaned over him, lower lip pulled between his teeth as he worried at it absently, tugging the bandages a little tighter before relenting when MacCready lifted a lazy hand to swat him away.

‘M’fine, stop fussing,’ he mumbled, voice already starting to slur and drift as he let his head drop back, eyes slipping shut. ‘Feels...much better now.’

‘You ain’t fine,’ Chiv huffed, but sat back anyway, shoving the bandages haphazardly back into his pack. Worry clouded his dark eyes as he watched the slow seep of blood through the dressing. ‘This is more than a stimpak’s gonna fix. We’re gonna have to try and get to Bunker Hill or something.’

‘Bunker Hill, you...you kidding? ‘N let the  _ vet  _ patch me up?’ MacCready giggled, voice a little too high and breathy, rolling his shoulders down into the chair’s half-stuffed cushions and sighing as he got comfortable. ‘You calling me an animal?’

Chiv threw him an unamused look - this was  _ serious -  _ but hell, if he could crack jokes again, then he supposed that was a good sign. He’d been deathly quiet since the fight, body too tense with pain to speak as Chiv had half-carried, half-dragged him into cover; and for MacCready of all people to be quiet could only mean something bad. But Chiv felt relief relax the taut set of his shoulders at his words, even if his voice was still a little shaky. Besides, the colour was coming back into MacCready’s cheeks finally, the horrible frightening pale cast he’d had since the Raider’s spiked bat had smashed into his knee fading out as the painkiller and stimpak worked through his body. Shoving his pack aside with one foot he shifted closer, kneeling up beside MacCready’s chair, grabbing the hand hanging loosely over the side of the armrest and lacing their fingers together.

_ Fuck,  _ but he’d been frightened this time.

‘Yeah,’ he said, relieved to hear the tremble finally fading from his voice, squeezing MacCready’s hand gently. MacCready’s eyes opened slow, heavy-lidded, a low gleam of blue sky beneath the sweep of his lashes, pupils wide and dark from the Med-X. ‘Mangy little alley cat, that’s you.’

MacCready dissolved into giggles again, and Chiv felt the corner of his mouth twitch back up in an answering smile, soft and relieved as the last of the pain was smoothed from MacCready’s face with his laughter.

‘Mangy, fu...shove off. How’m I anything like a...like a cat?’ 

‘You don’t see it?’ Chiv cocked his head teasingly. ‘Well for one thing, you pretty much purr when I do  _ this.’  _ As he spoke, he raised his free hand to run through MacCready’s hair, holding back a chuckle as MacCready scowled at him even as he tilted his head up into Chiv’s gently scratching fingers. ‘And there’s another one, that’s a cat-scowl if ever I saw one,’ he added, earning himself an eye-roll. ‘Act sarcastic all you want, hotshot, you ain’t denyin’ it.’

MacCready grumbled something under his breath, but Chiv’s fingers were still rubbing soothingly through his hair, and his gaze was half-dazed as a sigh slipped from his lips. A quick glance down showed the bloodstain on the bandages had slowed almost to a stop, the anticoagulant in the stimpak finally working its magic. Chiv closed his eyes momentarily, allowing the last of the panic to ease from his body.

‘You arch your back like a cat,’ he continued after a moment, trailing his hand down from MacCready’s hair to the top of his neck, encouraging him to lean forward so he could run his fingertips lightly down the first few juts of his spine. ‘When you stretch, when you’re tired…’ He flashed his teeth in a sudden wolfish grin, caught MacCready’s eyes. ‘When I do that thing you like with my -’

‘ _ Hey.’  _ A hand cuffed him sloppily on the back of the head, Chiv ducking out of the way just in time and grinning even wider. MacCready’s mouth was quirking up in a smile, though, unable to suppress it through the painkiller haze, and Chiv’s eyes snapped to it immediately, breath suddenly catching in his throat. Impulsive, indulgent, he let the hand on MacCready’s neck slip around to cup the side of his face, fingertips  _ just  _ brushing the outline of his lips, featherlight and gentle.

‘...you got a little kitten mouth,’ he said, voice lower now, leaning closer, unable to stop himself. MacCready’s mouth parted gently beneath his touch, his eyes quietly watchful. Chiv could feel his breath warm on his fingers, his train of thought rapidly derailing. ‘I...you…don’t look at me like that, it’s cute,’ he added, a warm flush staining the bridge of his nose as MacCready quirked an eyebrow at him.

‘How’s it cute?’ he grumbled, and the movement of his mouth beneath his fingers sent electricity dancing through Chiv’s nerves. ‘If this is you teasing me…’ He heaved out a sigh, gaze rolling lazily over Chiv’s face as he leaned closer. ‘Too much Med-X for that...’ he trailed off, eyes dropping to Chiv’s mouth as he tilted his head a little, shifting closer still. The adrenaline of the fight was wearing off, leaving only the aching need for reassurance between them, and Chiv felt MacCready squeeze his fingers again, a silent plea.

‘Oh, no, man. It’s all a compliment,’ Chiv said, voice a murmur, close enough now for their noses to brush. ‘I didn’t tell you?’ He glanced up from MacCready’s mouth, winked. ‘Cats are my favourite animal.’

‘Meow,’ MacCready whispered, and closed the gap in one clumsy movement to press a kiss to the corner of Chiv’s mouth; sloppy, another dazed giggle slipping breathlessly out. Chiv suppressed the urge to make a joke about his sniper aim;  _ later, when he’s sober enough to groan about it -  _ before turning his head into the kiss, catching his lower lip between his own, a low whine pulling from the back of MacCready’s throat as he did so. The world narrowed down around them, aches and pains from the fight forgotten as they moved together, Chiv pouring as much of his unspoken fear and relief into the kiss as he could and feeling the way MacCready’s heartrate picked up in response, pressing a hand flat to his chest to feel it better; reassure himself, he was still here, he was okay, he was alright. An eternity later, Chiv pressed his forehead to MacCready’s, the world spinning around them as he drew back, breath warm and copper-scented as they traded it between slightly panting mouths.

‘Chiv.’

‘Mmm.’

‘I’m okay.’

‘I know.’

MacCready’s eyes were closed still when Chiv finally drew back, reaching to brush a few stray, sweat-soaked strands of hair from MacCready’s forehead. The world came back gradually, the dizzy spinning slowly fading as MacCready gave a small sigh.

‘Man, if...if that’s what bein’ a cat gets me, I’m all for it.’

A slow, sly grin crept over Chiv’s face as he leaned back, thumb smoothing over MacCready’s hand still held in his.

‘This mean I get to put a collar on you?’

‘Oh, fu-  _ screw you.’ _


	8. Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: foreheads pressed into each others, sharing breath, until they dive back in for more because they thought they were done but they so were not

Six days - six and a half, if you counted the evening he’d left, which of course MacCready did.

Word had come back over the radio from Preston that Chiv had made it safely down to The Castle around dawn on the second day. He’d cleared the Mirelurks outta the waterlogged road up to University Point with no problems, helped haul all the junk they needed over there to get set up; it had, at one point, been a pretty damn big and successful settlement, with houses and trading posts still surviving from before the Institute had taken it, and it’d been a point of interest for Preston and Ronnie Shaw for some time. Now, with the Institute smouldering to ash deep belowground, they’d finally been able to kick into gear and draft together a team of settlers willing to help build it back up to its former glory again. Chiv, of course, had jumped at the chance to help out, spoiling for somethin’ useful to do (and, no doubt, hoping he could win over the new traders with a few charming lopsided grins and well-placed compliments, secure himself some good deals in the future). And on the evening of the third day, Preston had radioed through again to say all had gone beautifully, University Point was officially the newest Minutemen settlement, and Chiv would be heading back up under cover of night.

So that was all fine.

Except that’d been three days ago - three and a half days, even - and it did not take that long to make it from The Castle back up to Red Rocket. Not even if you were Chiv, distracted by every goddamn box left by the roadside, peering in every window in case there was somethin’ interesting inside.

Even  _he_  should be able to get back quicker than that.

MacCready was trying not to worry. Really, he was; this had happened before, and Chiv always turned up just fine a day or so behind schedule, held up by Super Mutants blockading the usual roads, or getting dragged into some other job at a settlement he’d dropped in on. He’d kept himself busy teaching the Sanctuary settlers to shoot, hanging out with the dogs, finally fixing up the dent in the stock of his hunting rifle he’d been meaning to take a look at for a couple weeks. But there was only so much busywork a guy could do before the worry started gnawing in around the edges. And MacCready, who’d lost enough damn people in his life already thank you very much, was quicker than most to reach that point.

He sighed, shifted, wriggled uncomfortably in his chair, leg bouncing incessantly as he counted out the remaining boxes of .50cals for what felt like the hundredth time. If the sun rose tomorrow and Chiv wasn’t home, that’d be seven days on the dot…a whole  _week_  just for what shoulda been one simple trip to the docks and back. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t  _right_ …what if he was out there alone, injured and unable to move, supplies dwindling, bleeding out, strength failing…what if he was trapped, held captive by Raiders, cornered by Ferals? Chiv was Chiv, he was tough and brave and strong, but he was still only human. Things could go wrong. He couldn’t be lucky all the time, no-one could, and…

MacCready pushed back from the table with a shove and a growl, scattering bullets across the floor as he grabbed his rifle, jacket already half-on.  _Screw this_. He wasn’t sitting around waiting any longer, he’d done enough of that in the time they’d been together, enough of feeling helpless whilst Chiv got dragged through a hail of gunfire in the name of heroics. This time, he was gonna -

‘Whoa, hey, hotshot. Where’re you off to in such a hurry?’

MacCready reeled back, knocked off-balance as the garage door he’d been wrenching open to storm through was slid back from the other side and he collided with something warm and solid. A hand grabbed his upper arm to steady him, another planting hard on the wall, a heady laugh ringing out as they stumbled together back into the hallway.

‘Jeez, careful, I nearly -’

‘Chiv…!’

MacCready was on him even before they’d righted themselves completely, staggering them both back against the doorframe with a thud and a hiss as he grabbed Chiv’s face in both hands and kissed him hard, a whine building in the back of his throat. Chiv’s hands slid to his waist immediately, pulled him close, brow furrowing as he tilted his head to return the kiss eagerly, teeth clashing and hands gripping and breath held until their lungs burned. 

Chiv’s laugh fanned hot across his panting mouth as they drew back, surprised but giddily happy against his lips as Chiv nudged his forehead against his, dark gaze meeting his own. His face was drawn, tired, the bags under his eyes darker than usual; there was a spreading bruise across his cheekbone, vicious purples and reds marring his skin, and a stained bandage tied haphazardly around his neck. 

But he was grinning, and breathing, and alive, and  _home._

‘Are you…?’

MacCready cut him off, shoving him back against the wall again as he pressed in for more, deeper this time, the edge of desperation gone but replaced with a more urgent need; the drive for reassurance, expression, everything they couldn’t quite put into words. It’d always been like this, between them; things expressed better like  _this_ , hard and sharp-edged as Chiv’s teeth found his lower lip and tugged, soft and too-sweet as their tongues met. When they finally drew back, MacCready could feel Chiv’s hands trembling as they found his hipbones and held him close.

‘Missed you too,’ Chiv whispered, and despite himself MacCready felt a laugh bubble up from his chest. ‘’M sorry, RJ. I missed you, too.’


End file.
